Born in WWI, Dorothea Lawson witnessed it all -- the rise and fall of Hitler and his Nazi Party, WWII and the Berlin Wall. Her first-hand account includes the air raids and intense bombing of Berlin, the ever-present hunger, the Soviet invasion and American occupation.

Her life is full of historical facts, but brings out the ordinary citizen perspective not found in history books, including many jokes about the Third Reich once punishable by imprisonment or death. And along the way she gives the reader a dose of German culture. Over 4o photos are included.

Several universities have used her memoir in history/Modern Germany courses.